Ocular manifestations of Chikungunya fever in the chronic phase

ABSTRACT Purpose: To identify ocular manifestations in patients with Chikungunya fever in the chronic phase and describe their sociodemographic profile. Methods: Patients with serologic confirmation of Chikungunya infection were included in this transverse study. All subjects underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic evaluation, including specific lacrimal function tests (tear break-up time test, Schirmer test, and lissamine green). Results: Overall, 64 eyes of 32 patients were evaluated. Most patients were women (71.9%), with the mean age of 50.0 ±13.7 years. The mean interval between serologic confirmation and the examination was 12.7 ±7.7 months. Twenty patients (62%) presented with dry eye. No statistically significant association was observed between dry eye and infection diagnosis time (p=0.5546), age (p=0.9120), sex (p=1.00), race (p=0.2269), arthralgia in acute infection (p=0.7930), retro-orbital pain (p=0.3066), and conjunctivitis (p=1.00). Conclusion: Dry eye was the most prevalent manifestation observed. No signs of intraocular inflammation and affected visual acuity were observed.